Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 331 - 26: Prehistoric Small Town

Chapter 331: Chapter 26: Prehistoric Small Town

With a body length of over three meters, the giant lizard, as robust as the logs in the forest and weighing at least four hundred pounds, carried the force akin to a speeding motorcycle when lunging. However, it was still sent flying by Tang Zheng’s whip-like leg kick. As it happened to kick the lizard’s mouth, half of the ancient giant lizard’s inch-long sharp teeth fell out, landing, bloodstained, in the grass off the stone path.

Tang Zheng immediately fired two shots. The first shot burst the lizard’s head that was hanging off the muzzle, and the second shot hit the lizard’s body which was tumbling on the stone road, accurately hitting its physique. The Thunderball instantly blasted it into fragments.

Tang Zheng glanced at his calf which was a bit painful and had quite a bit of saliva stuck on the shinbone. He originally intended to kick the lizard off, such that it could not muster any force in mid-air and not pounce again for a short time. However, the creature was so heavy that it just rolled away, even trying to regain its balance with its four legs.

"That was close." Tang Zheng didn’t dare to let his guard down, sternly looking around. Their color-changing scales were extremely slippery. If they didn’t move and were more than fifty meters away, you have no hope of finding them.

"Uncle, I’ve killed two." Lu Fan, waggling two fingers in a boast, said, "Let’s retreat. We can’t advance with them."

If it were just Tang Zheng and Lu Fan, they wouldn’t fear these ancient giant lizards at all. However, Julia and her daughter were too weak - they were burdens, not firing a single shot in the recent battle.

"Don’t leave us behind. I’ll try my best." Julia, letting go of her daughter, grabbed the rifle. But she was worried and she reached out with one hand to grasp onto Demi.

"The lizards are fast. It’s normal not to react in time." Tang Zheng made a retreat gesture, "Let’s leave first. The smell of blood might attract more dangerous creatures."

Miranda and her seven companions were located seventy meters behind them. Thanks to the straight stone path, they naturally saw Tang Zheng’s combat scene and immediately stopped to hold their guns on guard. They indeed found the figures of the ancient giant lizard lurking around them.

"More than 20, we really shouldn’t have come here." A hip-hop youth regretted to death. Looking at the protruding eyes of the giant lizards that could rotate 360 degrees, he loaded the rounds into the gun with two pulls of the handle.

"Shut up, hold on until Tang arrives." Miranda didn’t want anyone to undermine morale, "Aim for the head as much as possible, and be mindful of suppressing firepower."

"Uncle, there’s a situation." Lu Fan’s vision was excellent and he was quite calm as he analyzed the information, "They seem to be surrounded. If they were just being cautious, they wouldn’t look so anxious."

"Could this be a lizard nest?" Tang Zheng kept his pace steady, as Julia, who was already left behind with Demi on her back.

Lu Fan wanted to urge the young woman but gave up. To instruct her to abandon her daughter and survive alone? He couldn’t bring himself to say such words.

After thirty seconds, when Tang Zheng was twenty meters away from Miranda, the group of lizards launched an attack. He thought these people could hold up for a while, but he didn’t expect a hip-hop youth with no hesitation to turn around and run. It’s obvious that he had always intended to sacrifice others to save himself.

"Don’t panic." The sudden escape of that guy caused the team to be thrown into chaos. They all wanted to leave. Miranda tried to restore the team’s formation and shouted, "Do you think you can outrun the lizards?"

Gunshots echoed throughout the small town. Because of the close distance, everyone’s bullets hit the mark, shooting at the attacking lizards. The damage of bullets was insufficient, but they were somewhat effective in stopping them, knocking the lizards down.

The fleeing hip-hop youth thought he was clever, but the lizards, seeing the prey straying from the group, immediately darted out in large numbers to catch up with him at a swift pace. They too knew to seize an opportunity.

The panting unfortunate soul glanced back and saw them gaining on him which terrified him. He ran his fastest but the lizards were not slow, they chased him closely.

Tang Zheng fired his gun, calmly shooting the lizards. Series of thunderbolts with electric arcs flashed by. Miranda and the others saw one lizard after another being blasted into flesh and body fragments.

A mix of blood and meat splashed on their faces, but none of them had leisure to wipe it. They all kept firing. As soon as they cleared the path between them and Tang Zheng, they rushed over. They all knew that only by that man’s side would they be safest.

"Do you like being a meat shield that much?" Lu Fan sneered. These people crowded over, blocking her shooting range, and she was shoved to Tang Zheng’s side.

Gunshots rang from the other side of the stone road too, evidently the fleeing unfortunate soul had led the lizards to David.

"You sure have a big life." Danny sneered sarcastically, wishing at this moment he could shoot the panting youth squatting on the ground.

"Why didn’t you lead them to the eastern monkey?" Stevenson was also frustrated, it would be much better to let these lizards cause trouble for Tang Zheng, clearing a safe path in the process.

Tang Zheng wouldn’t proactively help either, he just rested on the spot, prepared to immediately lead everyone out once they killed those lizards.

"Uncle, the path still hasn’t lit up." Lu Fan took out the electronic map and looked at it with regret, "We should at least have walked more than half way through the town for the new route to appear."

"I’ll go take a look." Tang Zheng took one step, but was immediately held back.

"Don’t." It was not only Nicole, but Miranda and Julia also dissuaded Tang Zheng, while the others remained silent.

Tang Zheng didn’t persist but with subtle movements, he glanced at these people. He was simply testing them, and as expected, they were not wholeheartedly committed. Should he force one of them to traverse the small town?

"I just knew it was a bluff." Miranda remarked sarcastically. Seeing how easily Tang Zheng was dissuaded, she deduced that he was just trying to find a ’cannon fodder’. Thankfully, she had tried to dissuade him earlier. Of course, she wasn’t worried about Tang Zheng’s safety, but hers without the strong bodyguard.

Ten minutes later, everyone returned to the entrance of the small town. Their faces were ashen as they silently sat on the ground.

"If we can’t come to a decision, can we at least take a break and eat?" Danny handed Natalie a can of Tuna, he was still taking care of her.

"If there’s danger, why can’t we just take a detour around the town?" Maggie burst out, failing to understand what was worth debating.

"What if we miss the teleportation gate? Given the nature of the game, it’s safe to say it’s within the town," Robert disagreed. "Let’s get the runaway to cross the town."

Benson, the hip-hop youth who had previously escaped, immediately pulled a bitter face. He didn’t have the courage to resist.

"You can walk around the town first, but remember to keep an eye on the electronic map. If there’s a glowing route, you can return. Let’s eat now," Tang Zheng courteously proposed. ’Cannon Fodder’ were meant to be used in circumstances like this.

"To save time and energy, you just need to walk through the opposite side of the town and return via the stone road. We can give you some hand grenades for self-defense." Lu Fan pulled out five hand grenades and a can of food on the floor indicating Benson to pick them up, saying, "You don’t have a choice."

Benson glanced around; the newbies had all averted their eyes, admitting to the validity of this method and helplessly picked up the items on the ground.

"Can I have a few more ammo clips?" Benson attempted to take advantage of the situation. He considered running away by himself, but, if he did, his chances of survival were even lower.

Tang Zheng looked at David, who merely shrugged and indifferently tossed three ammo clips over.

"Hurry up, you only have an hour. If you don’t come back, we won’t recognize you as a team member." Tang Zheng also tossed out three more ammo clips and then called everyone to eat.

"Is it ok to give him so many rounds?" Stevenson was skeptical. If it were him, he would definitely try to escape.

No one responded to him. The newbies began to eat the left-over meat from breakfast. Tang Zheng also ate lightly while contemplating what to do if they really had to cross the town? How to kill those lizards?

The afternoon sun was warm on their bodies. Time seemed to pass especially slow. The newbies kept glancing at their watches, looking towards the exit of the town, waiting for Benson’s return.

"There’s someone! It’s Benson," the other hip-hop youth who was squatting at the intersection noticed Benson, stumbling about sixty meters away. He wanted to help, but after running a few steps, he stopped out of fear of an onslaught of lizards.

"Wait here." Tang Zheng, after hearing this, stood up and told Lu Fan quickly before rushing into the town. Benson was injured, his face pale, lips purple, his body kept shivering.

"Bitten by a lizard?" David also followed in, noticing the bite mark on Benson’s leg. Instead of offering aid, he searched for the electronic map in Benson’s pocket asking, "Did you find anything?"

"Help...help me." Benson could only manage to gasp for help, clutching Tang Zheng’s arm tightly, his eyes welling up with tears.

"I’ll inject you with a universal antidote." Tang Zheng opened his first aid kit, pulled out a syringe filled with green fluid - a detoxification serum. He quickly pulled off Benson’s protective clothing, revealing his arm, and swiftly injected the serum into him.

Benson immediately felt a wave of coldness, and he let out a comfortable moan.

"Alright, tell me your findings." Tang Zheng took a glance at his wound. If not for the protective clothing, his whole leg would’ve been bitten off. Nonetheless, the protective clothing couldn’t resist the teeth, it was full of small holes. It must’ve just pierced his skin, or Benson wouldn’t have lasted until now.

"There was no glowing route, but there was a bright spot labeled as ’teleportation gate’ next to the map," Benson said breathlessly, feeling his heart rate return to normal knowing Tang Zheng didn’t lie. He tells him the result, although he was set on giving the wrong answer if they refused to aid him.

"Get to the point, where’s the bright spot?" David probed Benson for more information about the electronic map.

"Where exactly in the town is it?" Tang Zheng’s inquiry was more precise. It must be within the town. Otherwise, Benson would’ve definitely returned the same way, which would’ve been much safer.

"If entering from the opposite side, probably about four hundred meters in," Benson licked his lips "Can I have some water to drink?"

Tang Zheng took out a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, and placed it near his mouth.

"Alright, finally we have a confirmation." David sighed in relief, tossed the electronic map onto Benson, and relaxed. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)